Pale Moon

Pale Moon. . , Two Masted, Three sail Pale Moon , Pale Moon was built in 1958 as a sailing yacht, auxiliary-powered by a diesel engine. The vessel’s hull was of a Chesapeake Bay deadrise design with typical wood construction. 35 feet long, she was a smaller version of the larger skipjacks used on the bay for oyster dredging under sail. Skipjacks, however, were single-masted with a large main sail and forward jib, and could not have engines installed. , , Rigged with two masts and smaller sails, Pale Moon had somewhat easier handling as a pleasure yacht. She likely had several owners and was finally abandoned by the last one at Yorktown’s Wormley Creek Marina in 1992, the Marina donated Pale Moon to the museum. , , In 2000, the Museum Boat shop crew began to restore Pale Moon, intending to make the boat representative of a working skipjack. They installed a new stern, some new hull planks and all new deck beams. They were about to re-deck her when Hurricane Isabel came to town in September 2003. , , Although efforts were made to protect Pale Moon, wind and waves broke her loose and she was destroyed. The Pale Moon’s remains , bow sprit with its refurbished name and trail boards, the rudder and the claborate steering stand , remind us of the powerful force that affect lives and livelihoods on the Bay. , (captions) , . Bow and trail board , . Wheel , . Bow , . Rudder , . Engine